Today “K-19: The Widowmaker” hits shelves on Blu-ray (pass) as does a no-frills version of “Escape From L.A.” (um, pass).

But one noteworthy release is “Saving Private Ryan,” making its Blu-ray debut as part of Paramount’s “Sapphire Series.” (Paramount distributes most of DreamWorks titles made before its sale to Disney.)

As you would expect, the movie looks fantastic on the format. The opening sequence, heck, most of the movie, is vivid in its graininess and the colors pop, even in the movie’s saturated and muted look and design. And the details -- even the shine of the weapons -- are extraordinary.

Sam Rockwell is reteaming with Jon Favreau for another comic book adaptation, DreamWorks' "Cowboys and Aliens."

Rockwell, who portrays arms manufacturer Justin Hammer in the Favreau-directed "Iron Man 2," has joined the cast of "Cowboys," the alien invasion-meets-the Wild West project that Favreau begins shooting in June.

Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde and Harrison Ford are already cast in the tale, based on a Platinum Studios graphic novel, of cowboys and Indians rising up against aliens.

Rockwell will play a bar owner named Doc who joins in the pursuit of the aliens. Once Favreau and the writers -- Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof -- learned that Rockwell was interested in the movie, they reconceived and expanded the role, which initially called for a heavy-set man.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who last starred as a lovelorn man in "(500) Days of Summer," is taking a turn into action territory.

The actor is in final negotiations to star in "Premium Rush," a Columbia chase thriller being directed by David Koepp. He also is in talks to topline "Looper," a sci-fi thriller that will reteam him with "Brick" director Rian Johnson.

"Rush" sees Gordon-Levitt as a New York bike messenger who picks up an envelope at Columbia University, only to be chased throughout the city by a dirty cop desperate to get his hands on it.

Koepp, one of the town's hottest screenwriters, wrote the script with John Kamps. Gavin Polone, who produced "Zombieland" for the studio, is producing the pic, which is eyeing a late-summer start. Matt Tolmach and Elizabeth Cantillon are overseeing for the studio.

First we heard "Kick-Ass" director Matthew Vaughn was a top candidate to direct Fox's "X-Men: First Class." Then he passed on the project last week. But now, we've confirmed, he's back in negotiations to helm the next installment of the enduring superhero franchise.

How did this happen? Let's examine the big factor that would, like metal controlled by Magneto, draw Vaughn back to the project.

Bottom line: Fox needs this movie to open next year, Vaughn knows it's a great chance for him, and both are willing to bend to make a deal. Here's the backstory from our sources:

Just over a week ago, a short named "The Raven" hit the town, generating instant buzz as the must-see mini-movie that a talented filmmaker made in order to get noticed.

The short, by Ricardo De Montreuil, focuses on a young man with powers being chased around downtown Los Angeles by robotic police drones, while a giant police ship coordinates the effort from the skies above.

But as opposed to stratospheric excitement caused by "Panic Attack!" -- he hot short about a robot that made the rounds back in November -- the buzz subsided after a few days, and people moved on.

Daniel Espinosa, the Swedish director behind the European crime thriller "Snabba Cash" and one of the hottest helmers in town, is zeroing in on his first English-language project.

The director is fielding offers to direct high-profile films for several studios and is in contention on several other projects, all involving such big names as Leonardo DiCaprio, Bryan Singer and Benicio Del Toro.

“True Blood” co-star Mehcad Brooks, Serinda Swan, Sid Haig and Daniel Bernhardt are starring in an indie horror movie from Bubble Factory with the working title of “Lockjaw.”

Fred M. Andrews wrote the script and is directing the project, which revolves around a group of family and friends who, en route to New Orleans, are sidetracked in the Louisiana bayou and encounter a monster named Lockjaw who is revered by the locals as a god.

Dianna Agron, one of the stars of red-hot Fox series “Glee,” has nabbed the female romantic lead in “I Am Number Four,” DreamWorks’ adaptation of the upcoming young-adult science-fiction book by James Frey and Jobie Hughes.

“Four” revolves around a group of nine aliens who escaped their home planet just before it was annihilated by a rival species. Hiding out on Earth, the title character, to be played by British actor Alex Pettyfer, disguises himself as a human high schooler, only to discover he’s still being hunted by his planet’s enemy.

Agron will play a girl dating a high school jock who falls for Number Four and becomes his confidante.

J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot shingle, which has long sought to crack Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” book series as a television series, no longer has the rights to one of the author’s biggest properties.

Bad Robot has returned the rights back to the best-selling author. Now Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman are teaming up to tackle the fantasy Western.

The three are in discussions on a scenario that would see an adaptation begin as a movie, to be written by Goldsman and directed by Howard, that would lead to a TV series produced by Imagine’s small-screen division.

Keeping the Freddy Krueger dream alive was no easy task for the producers of the new "A Nightmare on Elm Street," which opens Friday and had its premiere Tuesday night at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Andrew Form, one of the producers at Platinum Dunes -- the company behind the new film and known for its horror remakes such as "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Friday the 13th" -- said the filmmakers tried to stick only to the original, not the many sequels. New Line and the producers walked a fine line between making a scary movie with some humor but not slip into camp territory, which is something that befell the later movies.

Juan Jose Campanella, whose Argentinean film "The Secret in Their Eyes" won the foreign-language film Oscar this year, is making his English-language feature directing debut by tackling "Heck," an adaptation of a children's fantasy novel for Spyglass Entertainment.

"Heck," described as a kids' version of Dante's "Inferno," centers on a good boy named Milton Fauster who, with his shoplifting sister, dies in a freak accident and ends up in an unearthly reform school called Heck, where Lizzie Borden teaches home economics and Richard Nixon is the ethics teacher. Milton meets Virgil, a boy who has a map of the Nine Circles of Heck, and the two plot to escape the netherworld and its leader, the principal of darkness Bea "Elsa" Bubb.

“The Hobbit” is coming to theaters sooner than you think, but later than you initially thought.

Let's clear it up.

Warner Bros. is scheduling Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro’s two-part adaptation of “The Hobbit” for December 2012 and December 2013.

A confusion over release dates surfaced earlier today when Imax announced an overall, 20-film, three-year deal with Warners. In outlining which films would be included, Imax incorrectly gave 2013 as the release date for the first “Hobbit” movie.

Marc Guggenheim, a showrunner on ABC's "FlashForward" and a writer on "Green Lantern," has been tapped to pen "Leonardo Da Vinci and the Soldiers of Forever," the Warner Bros. project that recasts the original Renaissance man as an action hero.

The studio acquired the project in early March from producers Adrian Askarieh, Roy Lee and Doug Davison.

Warner is doubling down on Guggenhem, also hiring him to work on a draft of "Thieves of Baghdad," its "Ocean's 11" meets "Arabian Nights" project being produced by Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne's Unique Pictures.

"Da Vinci," based on an original idea and treatment from Askarieh, re-imagines Da Vinci as a member of a secret society who falls headlong into a supernatural adventure that pits the man against Biblical demons in a story involving secret codes, lost civilizations, hidden fortresses and fallen angels. Think "National Treasure" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" by way of "Clash of the Titans."

You know a premiere is huge when Grauman's Chinese Theatre acts as the overflow for the El Capitan. Two studios -- Paramount and Disney -- worked to host the unveiling of "Iron Man 2" on Monday, which saw Hollywood Boulevard blocked off and culminate in a football game-style rah-rah dance by the movie's Ironettes amid a shower of sparkles. Guests including Brad Bird, Sylvester Stallone, Ron Jeremy and Jeremy Renner showed up to the world premiere, which was originally to have been held in London but got changed because of the eruption of a certain Icelandic volcano.

"If I had said to people a month ago that were was going to be a volcanic eruption and it's going to prevent us from going overseas, people would have thought I was talking about a comic book," said Marvel's Kevin Feige.

Check out photos from the event after the jump, and click here for Kirk Honeycutt's review of the film.

The James Patterson book property, which was put into turnaround by Columbia after a year of development, is close to being snapped up by Universal. Catherine Hardwicke remains attached to direct, with father and son Avi Arad and Ari Arad and Steven Paul producing.

The project, however, will be working from a new script, with Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby -- whose credits include "Iron Man" and "Cowboys and Aliens" -- being tapped to write a new take.

"How to Train Your Dragon" returned to being No. 1 at the boxoffice, a cool feat for a movie going on its fourth week of release. That just goes to show the power of having a great movie (it's DreamWorks' best movie since the first "Shrek") and great word-of-mouth.

And let's not forget the popularity of dragons.

Dragons engender a strange kind of love from a certain kind of segment of the fan community. Just ask Alexander Serra, a storyboard artist and Eisner-nominated comic book drawer behind the all-ages comics "Sleeping Dragons" and "Growing Up Enchanted."

"Iron Man 2" has its mega world premiere in Hollywood in just a couple of hours, but the movie screened today in the U.K., where it opens this Friday. (Yes, much of the world gets to see it a week before North America.)

A popular U.K. blog, Hey You Guys, seems to have the the first review. I'm going to try holding off reading these as long as possible but you guys feel free to indulge.

And I just came across a take on the movie from the Mirror, which is billing itself as having the first review (sorry buddy). I'm not reading it but I can't help but notice the headline: "mind-numbingly dull, chaotic and unwatchable."

Here are the signs: The remake of "Piranha," this time from the talented French director Alexander Aja ("Haute Tension"), has been pushed back several times and is now in 3D. It's got a low-rent cast, has porn stars as extras in a wet T-shirt contest and Eli Roth as the contest's emcee. And it opens at the end of the summer.

At least the teaser seems to embrace the camp, even as the piranha look like no piranha I've ever seen. (And yes, I have been to South America.)

Warner Bros. and DC Comics are in the early stages of developing a tour, tentatively titled "Batman Live" and starring the Caped Crusader, working with Nick Grace Management and Water Lane Prods., companies behind the popular "Walking With Dinosaurs" and "Mamma Mia!" touring shows.

The show is neither a musical nor a Broadway-bound theatrical production but rather an elaborate arena production aimed at kids and families.

Eric Heisserer, the scribe who penned Universal's "The Thing" prequel, is writing "Final Destination 5," the latest installment in New Line's horror franchise.

The "Destination" movies, which center on the idea that one can't cheat death, usually begin with a group of people who survive a catastrophe because of the intervention of one person who has a premonition. Death, however, will have its due, and the survivors end up expiring in elaborate Rube Goldberg-like fashion.

The plot for the latest installment is being kept under wraps, though one scene involves a character undergoing laser-eye surgery.

Disney is mobilizing a galaxy of stars for its mini-Jerry Bruckheimer film festival.

As reported by Ace Fernandez at RiskyBiz, Disney is premiering the mega-producer’s latest, “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” on May 17 at Grauman’s Chinese in Hollywood at what is sure to be a big red-carpet event in Hollywood. But it's also showing its appreciation for the man who has brought in more than $15 billion at the worldwide boxoffice, throwing a star-studded Bruckheimer-palooza to which Joe Public can take part.

Warner Bros. has filled in the third slot of the love triangle at the heart of "The Girl With the Red Riding Hood," its gothic horror reimagining of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, bringing on board Max Irons, the son of actor Jeremy Irons.

Also in talks for key roles are Julie Christie and Gary Oldman.

Amanda Seyfried is already cast in the Catherine Hardwicke-directed project, playing a woman in a medieval village being terrorized by a werewolf. Earlier this week, Shiloh Fernandez nabbed the role of an orphaned woodcutter for whom Seyfried falls, much to the displeasure of her family.

Sony on Thursday announced Hollywood's latest 3D conversion, with the studio vowing to execute the "Green Hornet" enhancements in top quality and produce all of its visual effects shots in original 3D.

To accommodate the work, the Seth Rogen starrer will move from its previous release date of Dec. 22 to Jan. 14. The move to next year's Martin Luther King weekend represents the most recent of four dates penciled in for the comics-based actioner's domestic debut at different points.

To allow the "Hornet" move, Sony will shift comics-inspired vampire actioner "Priest" from a Jan. 14 launch to March 4. "Priest" has long been tagged as a 3D production. Sony domestic distribution president Rory Bruer said director Michel Gondry planned from the start of production for the possiblity of "Hornet" being released in 3D, though his work to date didn't include any 3D cameras.

"He always kind of shot it having the possiblity of having it in 3D in mind," Bruer said. "It's got a lot of depth and amazing visuals."

Breck Eisner, who directed Overtures' remake of "The Crazies," is in negotiations to helm the remake of "Escape From New York" for New Line.

The remake has been a top priority for the company, which picked up the rights in March 2007, with Gerard Butler attached to star and Ken Nolan writing the script.

The project then veered into development hell, losing Butler but amassing a penal colony of writers, among them Jonathan Mostow and Allan Loeb, and collecting then losing director Len Wiseman. (Neal Moritz has remained producer throughout the process.)

Eisner's boarding should bring "Escape" back on track as New Line, sticking with the Loeb draft, tries to mix an origin story for anti-hero Snake Plissken and merge it with the story of the 1981 original.

“The Losers,” which opens Friday, is one of several non-superhero comic book movies that hit theaters this year. The movie is faithfully based on the action-espionage DC/Vertigo series by writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock, which was a modern reimagining of a group of World War II misfit soldiers whose adventures appeared in comics like “G.I. Combat.”

French-born director Sylvain White helmed the movie, which features a fun performance by Chris Evans, the man who would be Captain America, as well as a wacky turn by Jason Patric as the villain.

Teresa Palmer is learning to count for "I Am Number Four," DreamWorks' adaptation of the upcoming young-adult science fiction book by James Frey and Jobie Hughes. D.J. Caruso is directing.

Palmer will play Number Six, one of nine aliens who escape their home planet before its annihilation by a rival species and hide out on Earth disguised as human high schoolers.

Alex Pettyfer, a British actor making his American debut with "Beastly," will play the title role of Four. Sharlto Copley, the star of last year's hit "District 9," will play Pettyfer's guardian and mentor.

Michael Bay is producing with Steven Spielberg. Chris Bender and J.C. Spink are executive producing with David Valdes. Al Gough and Miles Millar wrote the screenplay.

The WME-repped Palmer recently appeared in "Bedtime Stories" and next will be seen as the female lead in Disney's summer tentpole "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" with Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel. She also will take part in the Mad Max movie "Fury Road."

Christopher McQuarrie, an Oscar-winning writer who worked with Bryan Singer on movies ranging from “The Usual Suspects” to “Valkyrie,” has teamed up with the filmmaker again for New Line and Legendary Pictures’ “Jack the Giant Killer.”

McQuarrie is penning the current draft of the fantasy adventure, the tale of which is set in motion when a princess is kidnapped, threatening a long-standing peace between men and giants. A young farmer is given an opportunity to lead a dangerous expedition to the giants’ kingdom in hope of rescuing her.

Daniel Dae Kim, one of the stars of "Lost," has booked his first post-series film gig. He is joining Samuel L. Jackson and Kellan Lutz in "Deathgames," the action thriller from Motion Picture Corporation of America.

Jonah Loop, a visual effects supervisor on such pics as "Collateral" and "A Perfect Getaway," is making his directorial debut with the film, which begins shooting next month in Louisiana.

The story centers on a young man (Lutz) who is kidnapped by a sadistic mastermind (Jackson) and forced into a modern gladiator arena, where men fight to the death for the entertainment of the online masses.

Kim is playing a fellow prisoner, an artist who happens to be a master of kendo (samurai-style sword fighting), a skill that comes in handy when he competes for his life and his wife's.

"I’ve been doing this professionally for 60 years,” Leonard Nimoy tells the Toronto Sun. “I love the idea of going out on a positive note. I’ve had a great, great time.”

The Canadian paper talks to the man who would be Spock, who also just finished shooting his last episode of "Fringe." And the "positive note" he was talking about was last year's "Star Trek."

Nimoy may also be retiring from sci-fi and comic conventions. He will be at this weekend's Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo but says this convention appearance "could be the last go-round for that too."

Universal’s “Stretch Armstrong” has wrapped itself around a director and a new writer.

Rob Letterman, who co-directed “Monsters vs. Aliens,” has signed to direct the live-action 3D superhero adventure while Nick Stoller, the writer-director behind the studio's “Forgetting Sarah Marshall," is set to re-write.

Catherine Hardwicke is directing the pic, in which Amanda Seyfried will play a woman in a medieval village being terrorized by a werewolf.

The movie is one of several projects casting for young actors as Hollywood rides a wave of youth-centered movies. But as much as Hollywood might want its young actors, studios are being very choosy. Fernandez is said to have screen-tested and read seven times before nabbing the role of Peter, an orphaned woodcutter for whom Seyfried falls, much to the displeasure of her family.

Fernandez, repped by Innovative Artists and Untitled Entertainment, has been on the cusp of a big break for awhile; he tested for the role of Edward for "Twilight" and for the lead in "Speed Racer." Among his credits are runs on the television shows "Jericho," "United States of Tara" and "Three Rivers."

"Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on 'Bond 23' indefinitely," the duo said. "We do not know when development will resume and do not have a date for the release."

Samuel L. Jackson and Kellan Lutz are in negotiations to star in "Deathgames," an indie action movie from Motion Picture Corporation of America.

Jonah Loop, a visual effects supervisor on such pics as "Collateral" and "A Perfect Getaway," is making his directorial debut with the film, which begins shooting next month in Louisiana. MPCA's Brad Krevoy and Mike Callaghan are producing with Mark Williams.

The story centers on a young man (Lutz) who is kidnapped and forced into the savage world of a modern gladiator arena, where men fight to the death for entertainment of the online masses. Jackson orchestrates the games, overseeing them from his computer lair with the help of twin ladies who see to his every desire.

Hammer Films and Dark Horse Comics are teaming up to create a series of graphic novels and comic books based on Hammer’s movies.

Hammer is best known for its popular 1950s and 1960s horror films. The line is being revived by Exclusive Media Group, which also owns Spitfire Pictures and U.S. theatrical distributor Newmarket Films.

The first comic project isn’t based on one of Hammer’s classic films but rather on “Let Me In,” the company’s upcoming remake of the Swedish horror movie, “Let the Right One In.”

Tom Elkins, an editor who has worked on such films as "Wanted" and "The Da Vinci Code," is stepping into the director's chair for the first time with "A Haunting in Georgia," Gold Circle's follow-up to "A Haunting in Connecticut."

Elkins was the editor on "Connecticut," and his boarding sets the movie on track for an August start, with casting under way. Gold Circle, readying the Katherine Heigl romantic comedy "Life as We Know it" for a fall release through Warner Bros., is fully financing, and Mandate International is handling foreign sales.

The fourth installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean” has just hooked a mermaid in the form of French actress Astrid Bergès-Frisbey.

Tackling her first English-speaking role, the Paris-based performer, born to French-American and Catalan parents, will played a fish-tailed beauty in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Rob Marshall said Wednesday.

Efron is attached to star in and produce a remake of “Snabba cash,” the hot Swedish property that was the subject of a heavy Hollywood bidding war and has just found a home with Warner Bros.

Warners bought the remake rights for Efron to produce via the new Warners-based shingle he runs with manager Jason Barrett.

Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven and Richard Suckle are producing, along with original producer Fredrik Wikstrom. Michael Hjorth will exec produce.

“Snabba” is based on a novel by Jens Lapidus and was a major hit in its home country. The thriller followed three interconnected storylines involving drugs and organized crime, with the main character a young financial wizard (played in the original by half-American Joel Kinnaman, poised for an international break-out) who hopes to strike it rich quickly by becoming a runner for a coke dealer.

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